En Linea - George Guzman

Available to buy: Vinyl

George has become somewhat of an underground cult figure. His music can often be heard throughout hipster lounges around the world. A mind-boggling conga player, Guzman broke into the New York City boogaloo scene in 1968 with his debut “Introducing George Guzman”. That album quickly garnered the attention of the sophisticated music aficionado. Unlike, say Joe Cuba or Pete Rodriguez, George had a special knack for producing what’s been labeled as a softer-jazzier kind of boogaloo. Guzman’s classic track “Lazy Boogaloo” is one of those songs that showcase the mellower aspects of the genre. Chill and romantic, “Lazy Boogaloo” is a symbol of boogaloo’s wide range of tempos. This was not just party music; it was music for all occasions. 

His subsequent album, “In Line” took Guzman further into the realm of soulful boogaloo and Latin soul. His landmark, however, remains the “Introducing George Guzman”, an album that truly captured the free spirit of the late sixties. 

One of the best conga players of his generation, Guzman knew how to create the perfect lazy atmospheres and the frenetic highs that made boogaloo a swinging favourite.

(source: http://www.fania.com/content/george-guzman) 

Tracklisting

1. Misery

2. Really Bad Scene

3. Mozambique

4. No Te Olvidare

5. Y No Sabia Bailar

6. Diggin' Rice N' Beans

7. La Banda Ya Llego

8. Winter Love

9. Manteca

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Intoxica - The Revels

Available to buy: CD / Vinyl

The Revels were an American rock band, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. Their most famous song was "Church Key."

The group started in the mid- to late- 1950s as a high school band in San Luis Obispo, California called Gil Serna & The Rockets, before changing their name to The Revels in 1959. Although their instrumental style predated the 1961-65 era of surf music, their success came during that period.

They are usually considered a "pre-surf" band and were the original Central California coastal instrumental band. Other bands from the area later included the more popular groups named The Sentinels and The Impacts.

(source: wikipedia)

The Revels' sound is at its undeniable best in tracks such as Revellion or Comanche (which many will recognise from Tarantino's Pulp Fiction) where the rhythm section provides a solid, driving beat underneath bouncing guitar riffs and the growling, squealing saxaphone wails over the top of it all like a frenzied and deranged animal.

Tracklisting


1. Intoxica
2. Sano
3. The Monkey Bird
4. Church Key
5. Vesuvius
6. It's Party Time
7. Revellion
8. Comanche
9. Tough Soul
10. Soft Top
11. (Like) Tequila
12. Rampage
13. Good Grief
14. Six Pak
15. Longboard
16. Vesuvius
17. Church Key
18. Good Grief
19. Vesuvius

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Center of Attention - Pete Rock & InI

Available to buy: CD

INI was a hip-hop group composed of Rob-O, Grap Luva, I Love H.I.M., Marco Polo (not to be confused with the hip-hop producer of the same name), and DJ Boodakhan.

The group started working on their debut album together with producer Pete Rock in the mid-90s, and signed a deal with Rock's newfound imprint Soul Brother Records through Elektra. The record company eventually shelved the album, releasing only one 12" single in 1996. The track "Fakin' Jax", produced and featuring Pete Rock, became a minor underground hit. The album eventually became one of the most bootlegged unreleased albums in hip-hop's history, but in 2003 it saw an official release it was included on Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics, a double LP of Pete Rock's mid-1990s production work, originally canceled by Elektra Records.

Despite the fact that Pete Rock is not an official member of the group, it is synonymous with his name, as he produced almost every track of Center of Attention, and Grap Luva is his younger brother. Rock also had verses on two of the songs albums with additional ad-libs and background vocals on basically every track.

(source: wikipedia)

Tracklisting:

1."Intro"

2. "No More Words"

3. "Step Up"

4. "Think Twice"

5. "Square One"

6. "The Life I Live"

7. "KrossRoads"

8. "To Each His Own" (feat. Q-Tip & Large Professor)

9. "Fakin Jax"

10. "What You Say"

11. "Props"

12. "Center Of Attention"

13. "Grown Man Sport"

14. "Mind Over Matter"

15. "Don't You Love It"

16. "Microphonist Wanderlust"

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Le Bienheureux - GUTS

Available to Buy : CD

If anyone is guilty of Guts’ addiction to music, his mother is to be blamed. Instead of turning her son into an overweight and diabetic child, she preferred to give him a new vinyl each week, for his good manners. Bob Power (A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots) became his ‘Paul Bocuse’, the coach able to teach him to spice and keep his preparations edible! He gets his American guides recognition and De La Soul, Rahzel, Biz Markie and Common Sense are joining him at the table. Faster Jay is opening the Kif Record label and ‘Le Bienheureux’ becomes one of his’chefs’ and goes behind the ovens for French rappers like Passi, Big Red, Sages Poetes De La Rue, the Svinkels, Les Rieurs. Impossible to please, he travels to Senegal to learn about new recipes in Youssou N’Dour studios and works with some local ‘chefs’ in Jamaica (Anthony B, Michael Rose and Sacha) The actual MC’s generation didn’t know how to prepare toasts when Guts was using an ASR Ensoniq with one hand ! Now ‘four stars chef’, Guts Le Bienheureux is proposing his menu! Mainly inspired by his travels, a meal with the taste of Pete Rock, DJ Shadow, Dan The Automator, RJD2, DJ Premier, Jay-Dee, Danger Mouse, Wax Taylor only prepared on a MPC 4000! Bon appetit!

(Source: http://www.last.fm/music/GUTS/+wiki)

Tracklisting:

1		Intro
2		Good Morning
3		Everybody Know
4		You Know That Shit!!!
5		Escucha Me
6		Metis
7		Nightmare Of Paris
8		Take A Look Around You
9		Pura-Vida
10		Skunkfunk
11		Cry & Smile
12		And The Living Is Easy!!!
13		Sweet Love
14		Endless Night
15		Narco Trip
16		I Love You ("It's So Hard To Say")

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